UAE : World’s Largest Solar Park Reaches Its Final Phase

The world’s largest dispatchable solar energy 950MW project has reached phase IV of its completion, informed Mott MacDonald the leading engineering, management and development consultancy in the kingdom.

The hybrid 700MW concentrated solar power (CSP) and 250MW photovoltaic (PV) project was implemented as an independent power producer project by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).

The technical advisory was provided by the consultancy as part of the transaction consortium, which included KPMG for finance and Ashurst for legal services required for procurement of Phase IV of the solar park.

The $4.3-billion project forms part of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to increase the share of clean energy in Dubai’s total power output to 25 percent by 2030 and 75 percent by 2050.
The power purchase agreement for the project was signed in October 2018 being awarded through a competitive bidding process with the cost of electricity at $7.3 cents per kW/h.

The thermal energy storage enables operational flexibility to adapt to Dewa’s dispatch needed from baseload generation to support during peak demand periods.

The landmark project is the largest CSP project in the world and features the highest CSP tower. It also marks the largest ever financing for a clean energy project without the involvement of any export credit agency or development of the financial institution.

Mott MacDonald has proven its flagship to provide world-class capability in the CSP sector, said the management.

The company exhibited their proud moment to contribute to the development of a solar plant that can compete with fossil fuel power generation while providing clean reliable energy to UAE and looks forward to develop across the global market.